Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited Saudi Arabia last week as Italy looks to the Middle East in search of solutions to global challenges and migration.

"The importance of the Gulf in the international arena, in terms of economic and geostrategic interests, cannot be underestimated," said Tajani, who said Italy was seeking partnership with "a great and rich country."

Tajani said the Saudi government took part in the international conference promoted by Italy in July where the so-called "Rome Process" was launched – "an inclusive and global dialogue about deep causes of mass migration and the fight against human trafficking, to govern legal migration flows and to support refugees."

According to Tajani, Saudi Arabia plays an important role in migration flows: "They are helping Sub-Saharan Africa, they will help Tunisia," with a policy oriented toward "having Africans discover the wealth of their land" – to promote the growth of their countries without exploiting them so that they will no longer have an economic incentive to migrate, the Italian minister said.

Strengthening economic cooperation

In a meeting with the Saudi Minister of Trade, Majed Abdallah Alkassabi, Tajani explained that Italy "is considering investing" in Saudi Arabia and "continuing with the export policy that represents 40% of our GDP."

 In response, the Saudi minister said: "The Saudi people love Italy," extending an invitation to the European country to participate in the "great modernization project of the Kingdom" – dubbed Vision 2030.

 A number of Italian companies are already involved in infrastructure projects in the Gulf state, such as a new metro. Riyadh expects that following the mission by the head of Italian Foreign Affairs, "other initiatives may become reality."